This Coffee Robot Wants to Make Your Barista Obsolete

It’s official: humans aren’t even capable of making a simple cup of coffee anymore. We all know the dreadful feeling when you get your drink at Starbucks, take a sip and realize they got your order wrong. Sometimes there are just too many orders to keep track off, and Starbuck’s plethora of drink options can be confusing to non-frequent costumers. Plus, a coffee run is time-consuming. But what if your coffee was made perfectly in about 20 seconds, no mistakes? That’s what Café X is here for.

Café X is designed to provide A+ customer service and coffee to people on the run. Most importantly, the goal of the company, according to its website, is to make coffee taste the way the roaster intended.

The machine runs two coffee makers at a time for prime efficiency and they’ve made it quick and easy to order with either your phone or the location’s kiosk. Americano, Cappuccino, Espresso, you name it, Café X can make it for you. You can also add flavors and syrups, and in seconds, you will receive a text saying your coffee is done. All you have to do is punch in a pin number and out comes your 3 p.m. caffeine fix.

Henry Hu, founder and CEO of Café X, said in an interview with Tech Crunch that the robot is made out of sheet metal from China and was built entirely by hand. He explained that the coffee itself comes from partnerships with local roasters, who deliver their roasts to the machine on site. Café X wants consumers to buy coffee that will taste as the roasters intended, as well as delicious coffee that is around 40 cents cheaper than larger coffee chains like Starbucks. Plus, the extra flavors can be added with no additional charge.

Café X currently has two locations, one in Science Park in Hong Kong, China, and at the Metreon in San Francisco, California. At each location, there is a human concierge standing by to make sure the robot is running efficiently and to answer customers’ questions. The machine also keeps up with its hygiene by cleaning itself. The only downside is you can’t get the latte designs done by human baristas, but maybe the taste will win you over.

There are some concerns, as with any robot taking over a human’s job, but we’ll have to wait and see how this machine does during rush hour. The company also plans to expand their machines in more highly populated areas and college campuses.